PMO shock over gay Canadians

[HeresyLives]

SASKATOON, July 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The revelation of $400,000 in funding from the federal Conservatives for the recent Toronto Gay Pride parade, which is notorious for its inclusion of full frontal nudity and public sex acts by homosexuals, came as a shock to most social conservatives in the nation. According to Conservative MP Brad Trost, however, the decision to fund the event also came a shock to most of the Conservative caucus, even those inside the Prime Minister's office.

Speaking to LifeSiteNews.com from his riding office in Saskatoon today, the 36-year-old Conservative said, "The pro-life and the pro-family community should know and understand that the tourism funding money that went to the gay pride parade in Toronto was not government policy, was not supported by - I think it's safe to say by a large majority - of the MPs. This was a very isolated decision."

Trost also hinted that Minister Diane Ablonczy, who was responsible for the funding, lost the file as a consequence of the embarrassment to the Party. Protesting more than once that there was no "official connection," he said, however, "it should be noted that the file has been reassigned to a different Cabinet Minister since that announcement was made." He added, "The whole tourism program and funding for major tourism events is being reviewed."

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09070615.html

[daleo]

1. Martin Lawrence's piece about Harper's grandfather was interesting

In today's Globe.

"Since a body was never found, no one can be certain what happened to Harris Harper. But the consensus, said Mrs. Tippett, is that it was suicide from depression. A few months before he disappeared, she said, he had suffered a nervous breakdown. He then tried to return to his job at the school, but they gave him some tests to mark “and it was all marked wrong and he couldn’t conduct school.”

That may have been the clincher. She recalled that “he was last seen by a nurse and they think that he walked down Main Street, turned left and went past Eaton’s to the bridge and jumped in the river. The tide took him out.” A large search party, which included Mrs. Tippett’s husband, came up empty-handed.

Harris Harper, she recalled, was a nice-looking man, polite but firm. A military buff, he insisted that teachers put classes through “physical drills,” a daily exercise regime. He had a small speech impediment, and pronounced proof as “poof”; the teachers used to mock him for it and refer to him as “Poof Harper.” The memory still rankles Mrs. Tippett."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/a-family-tragedy-that-stephen-harper-has-not-forgotten/article1211219/
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Reading between the lines, it seems likely that Harper's granddad may have committed suicide over insinuations that he was gay (it is unlikely that the insult "Poof Harper" was motivated by a speech impediment, since it is a well known slang derogatory term for homosexual). This occurred in 1950 after all.

Given that family background, you might think Harper would be in favor of openness and tolerance for gays. But apparently he is not willing to stand up to the homophobes in his party.

[HeresyLives]

2. Hmmm. Never thought of that.

But yes, now you mention it, there were a lot of words they could have chosen as an example. Odd that only one of them became part of his name.

[offog]

6. daleo, you could be wrong.

"Given that family background, you might think Harper would be in favor of openness and tolerance for gays. But apparently he is not willing to stand up to the homophobes in his party."

The problem isn't that Harper "is not willing to stand up to the homophobes in his party." The problem is that Harper is a serious homophobe himself. He's onside with the homophobes.

Stephen Harper's homophobia may actually have been strengthened by his grandfather's experiences. Harris's experiences may have given Stephen the message that gays are to be despised, and association with them is to be avoided at all costs.

BTW, one reason I'm so sympathetic to gays is because when I was in high school, I watched a couple of buddies suffer because they were considered "faggy looking". One of those buddies was my first boyfriend. I guess you never know which way people will go in their attitudes towards gays.

[Posteritatis]

3. There's a tiny bit of a slant in that article

And the site in general. Parts seem a bit odd even for somethign that would find its way onto FR.

[HeresyLives]

5. There's a LOT of slant in that article.

:rofl:

It's a rightwing religious site. But the article caused an uproar in the PMO, and a crisis 'at the highest levels,' apparently.

Our current govt is SoCon, and this funding has really upset their base.

[IntravenousDemilo]

4. "Public sex acts"?

I don't recall ever having seen any sucking, rimming, or fucking during the parade.

Because I clicked on the link for Lifesite News, I'll now have to take my Mac in for a proper cleaning.

[TaffyMoon]

7. And as a card carrying member of PETA I do not want my taxes

going to that circus of animal abuse, the Calgary Stampede.